Flame and Gasoline
by Janet Clayton
Summary: He was flame as she was gasoline. They tried not to get too close, but he ultimately consumed her. 2 of 9 posted. Jess and Rory.
1. Prologue

_Flame and Gasoline  
by Krisleigh Cronkhite_

_I don't own it, you know it. You also know I'm not stupid enough to say I do, so move on._

_He was flame as she was gasoline. They tried not to get too close, but he ultimately consumed her._

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**Prologue**

They tried the friend thing, over and over again. They tried the apart thing and the hate thing and the thing where they e-mailed once a week.

In the end though, he was flame and she was gasoline. They tried not to get too close, but he ultimately consumed her.

It wasn't an exaggeration, either. Whenever they tried anything more, he became her world. They tried romance, they tried sex, they tried both. In the end, they focused on each other so differently, her so intently and he so widely.

She always let him consume her, though. She never tried to fight it, she never tried to deny it or delay it. She just let the flame that was him consume her entire being, engulf her and eat her alive.

He was at fault, too, obviously. She wouldn't have to let him if he didn't. He could be so enthralled by her one moment, though, and the next she would be utterly invisible. It wasn't fully his fault. He was, after all, a victim of circumstances.

Or so he claimed.

He liked to think that he was the way he was because of what she made him. It was a simply equation. Jess plus Rory equals Change and Consumption minus Emotion equals the Flame and the Gasoline.

Maybe it wasn't so simple.

Either way, it was all just something to blame and hate and love and in the end, it came down to the circumstances. In the end, it was the flame and the gasoline it consumed.

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_Krisleigh Cronkhite wrote this on October 10, 2005 because she felt like starting a series and this seemed to be on her mind_


	2. Chapter One: Early October 2007

_I tend to reply to every review individually, but I couldn't respond to two, so_ **y**_and _**LegendaryRoxstar**, _thank you for your reviews._

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Chapter One  
Early October 2007

She silently watched him move around the room, muscle dancing under the taught skin of his torso and arms.

He looked at her briefly, barely caring, before pulling a tee-shirt over his head and heading out. The 'Goodbye' he stated was purely a force of habit as the door to the apartment clicked shut with resolution.

Rory blew out a breath and reached for the phone, dialing the familiar numbers with hesitancy.

In the middle of the fourth ring, Lorelai picked up, 'Danes Residence.'

Now or never. "Hi."

Lorelai didn't talk.

"I… Thought I would tell you that I'm in New York."

Lorelai let out a breath that Rory assumed she'd been holding. 'Okay.' She stayed silent for several minutes. 'How's Logan?'

Oh, yeah. "I haven't been seeing Logan for over a year and a half." She nodded at nothing. "I'm, uhm, I'm actually seeing someone else."

'Oh.'

"Yeah." She threw off the comforter and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "It's Jess."

Lorelai made a noise that could be a sigh or a gasp. 'Oh. Really?'

She, once again, nodded at nothing. "Yeah. It's really recent, though."

'Okay.' She paused. 'Uhm, Happy Birthday. I know it's a little early, but…'

"Thanks." She stood up, walking out of the bedroom. "How're you?"

Silence temporarily hung heavy, 'I'm good. You?'

She dropped onto the sofa, "I'm good."

Lorelai didn't respond.

"How's Luke?"

'Luke's good,' she replied. 'How's… Jess?'

Rory shrugged, "He's… Jess. He's a little more sociable, but still Jess."

'That's good.'

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth before releasing it, "Will you come to my birthday dinner?"

'What?' Lorelai immediately questioned in an incredulous tone.

"Grandma and Grandpa are throwing a dinner for me and they said I can invite anyone I want and…" She sighed. "I was hoping it could just be me, you, them and Luke. I have some news."

'Uh,' she pauses, obviously shocked. 'Okay.'

Rory smiles slightly, "Good. It's Saturday the sixth. It's at the grandparents and it's at seven."

They sit in silence before there's a knock on Rory's door.

"Oh, someone's here. I've gotta go." She smiles, "See you Saturday."

'Yeah, bye.'

The line clicked dead and Rory hung up her phone, heading to the door.

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Written:_ 12th of October, 2005_  
Posted:_ 14th of October, 2005 _


	3. Chapter Two: Later Early October 2007

Chapter Two  
Later Early October 2007

There had never been a more tense or awkward silence than the once that descended when Rory gathered with her mother, grandparents and stepfather in the Gilmore Manor.

She looked around at them, her knuckles white from her grip on her wine glass. Might as well. "I went back to school, I have a job, I have a live-in boyfriend and I live in SoHo in a ridiculously overpriced apartment."

Emily looked vaguely concerned, "Do you need money?"

"No," she shook her head. "I just want you all to know that… I'm doing good."

Richard nodded, "It does seem so." He took a healthy drink of his scotch. "And what about this live-in boyfriend, what is his name?"

She cleared her throat, her answer hesitant, "Jess Mariano."

Luke, who had previously been staring at his drink in obvious discomfort, snapped his head up to look at her, "What!"

Lorelai rested her hand on his knee in an attempt to calm him.

Richard reacted only with slightly raised eyebrows and Emily's look of disdain deepened. "The one with the black eye?"

"He hasn't had a black eye in at least a month," Rory replied honestly.

Richard inquired then, "The one that crashed your car?"

"Only one of them," she insisted. "And it was an accident."

"Me nephew?" Luke hoped to clarify that Rory knew a different Jess Mariano with habitual black eyes and a tendency to wreck vehicles.

Rory nodded, "He'd probably even admit to it in a court of law. Maybe." She smiled at him, "He likes you."

Luke looked even more uncomfortable than he had previously before looking at Lorelai, "Your fine with this?"

"It's her life." She managed to keep bitterness out of her next words, "She's proven that time and time again." Quickly, Lorelai changed the topic, "So you're back in school?"

"Uhm, yeah. It's a joint degree program through NYU for my MA and my MBA."

Richard came to attention, "That sounds expensive. Are you sure you don't need any financial support?"

She shook her head, "I'm sure. Money gets tight, but we manage pretty well."

"Yes, well," Emily took a sip of her white wine. "If you do need any help, we would be happy to provide it."

"Thank you." She gave a small smile.

They all sat in silence for several minutes until the maid entered the room, "Dinner is ready."

They all stood and made their way to the dining room in awkward silence.

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Written: _October 12, 2005 _

Posted: _October 28, 2005 _


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